How does Citrix Presentation Server work?

In a traditional environment application thick-clients are installed locally on a client machine or accessed via a browser running on a client machine. Communications take place directly over a network between the client on the users’ machine and application servers located in a data center. Increasingly, data centers are located in remote locations relative to the end-user. This traditional model requires significant network bandwidth, and often impairs user productivity with slow application response times. This traditional model also has potential security issues as business and application data is sent across the wire and then resides on the local desktop or laptop.

Citrix Presentation Server solves these problems by centralizing applications and data in secure data centers. Presentation Server virtualizes applications by separating where the application is used from where it runs. All components of applications are installed, maintained and secured in the data center, while only screen displays, keyboard entry and mouse movements traverse the network. IT consolidates application management centrally, while enabling users the freedom to operate from any location, on any device, over any network. Citrix Presentation Server is a complete application delivery system for Microsoft Windows applications that offers both application virtualization and application streaming to enable the best access experience for any user, with any device, working over any network. Presentation Server’s underlying intelligence automatically selects the best delivery method for the user, the application and the location.